page_title: Vehicle registration plate
section_title: Canada
hierarchical_section_title: Vehicle registration plate / Americas / Canada
caption_attribution_description: English: 2016 New Brunswick license plate, private passenger car
context_page_description: A vehicle registration plate, also known as a number plate or license plate, is a metal or plastic plate attached to a motor vehicle or trailer for official identification purposes. All countries require registration plates for road vehicles such as cars, trucks, and motorcycles. Whether they are required for other vehicles, such as bicycles, boats, or tractors, may vary by jurisdiction. The registration identifier is a numeric or alphanumeric ID that uniquely identifies the vehicle or vehicle owner within the issuing region's vehicle register. In some countries, the identifier is unique within the entire country, while in others it is unique within a state or province. Whether the identifier is associated with a vehicle or a person also varies by issuing agency. There are also electronic license plates.
context_section_description: Some provinces issue plates in which the letters and numbers are embossed so that they are slightly raised above its surface. Others issue flat plates. The territory of Nunavut introduced the first flat registration plate in Canada in 2012–2013.
  When a person moves from one province to another, they are normally required to obtain new registration plates issued by the new place of residence.
  In the Canadian provinces and territories of Alberta, New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, the Northwest Territories, Nova Scotia, Nunavut, Prince Edward Island, Quebec, Saskatchewan, and the Yukon, registration plates are currently only required on the rear of the vehicle. The remaining provinces—British Columbia, Manitoba, and Ontario—require the registration plates to be mounted on both the front and rear of the vehicle.
  In 1956, all North American passenger vehicle registration plates, except for French-controlled St. Pierre and Miquelon, were standardized at a size of 6 in × 12 in (152.40 mm × 304.80 mm), although a smaller size is used for certain vehicle classes, such as motorcycles, and for the state of Delaware's historic alternate black and white plates, which are 5.25 in × 9.5 in (133.35 mm × 241.30 mm). The plates of the Northwest Territories are shaped like a polar bear but bolt to the standard holes.Canadian Forces vehicles that travel on regular roads display registration plates. These vehicles have registration plates issued by the Department of National Defence. Domestic plates were issued by the DND after 1968.
  Prison inmates in some Canadian provinces make registration plates.
caption: Standard New Brunswick plate
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